A federal judge in Washington D.C. has ruled that former Vice President Mike Pence will have to testify before a grand jury in the Justice Department’s investigation into efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election, the Associated Press reported Tuesday afternoon, citing two people familiar with the ruling.
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because it remains under seal, told the AP that Pence would not have to answer questions about his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump’s supporters violently stormed the building as Pence was presiding over a joint session of Congress to certify the vote.
As noted by the report, “The sealed ruling from U.S. District Judge James Boasberg sets up the unprecedented scenario of a former vice president being compelled to give potentially damaging testimony against the president he once served.”
The ruling comes as Pence has been inching closer to announcing a run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, which would put him in direct competition with Trump.
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Meanwhile, Pence and his attorneys argued that, because he was serving in his capacity as president of the Senate that day, he was protected from being forced to testify under the Constitution’s “speech or debate” clause, which is intended to protect members of Congress from questioning about official legislative acts.
Department of Justice special counsel, Jack Smith, is investigating Trump’s attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election to keep Trump in power. Multiple Trump aides have already appeared before the Jan 6 grand jury.
Pence is evaluating whether he will appeal the ruling, according to the report.
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